91997E3883

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3883/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) and Spalato Belleré (NI) to the Commission (5 December 1997)

Subject: Transportable pressure equipment

The Commission has submitted a proposal for a Council directive on transportable pressure equipment (COM(96) 674 final - 97/0011 SYN) ((OJ C 95, 24.3.1997, p. 2. )).

The implementation of this directive will lead to a reduction in costs and thus provide economic advantages for manufacturers of pressure equipment, since in future approvals and the affixing of marks will be done in a single Member State, providing for free movement of approved equipment throughout the territory of the EU. This will lead to a sharp fall in the price of this equipment as a result of competition.

Will the Commission ensure that industry in this sector (manufacturers of equipment such as gas bottles, tanks and other components, and producers and distributors of liquid gas) pass on the economic advantages they secure to consumers, in terms of the final price for these products?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (9 February 1998)

The Commission considers that when the proposed directive enters into force manufacturers should benefit from economies in the costs connected with obtaining the approval of transportable pressure equipment. Indeed, the manufacturers of this equipment will no longer have to obtain approval in all the Member States, since approval and marking in only one Member State will be sufficient to allow the marketing of equipment and use in all the Member States.

With regard to the effects of these savings on the price of this equipment, while no formal guarantee can be given that the savings will be passed on, the Commission is convinced that market forces will have this effect.